Kinnear, James Soviet & Russian Airborne Forces Combat Vehicles

A volume from the series Europe @ War. The Soviet Union was a pioneer in the deployment of airborne troops. The first airborne brigade was formed as early as 1932, and Soviet military exercises in 1935 already included the practice of airborne deployment of heavy support vehicles and weapons. During the Second World War, Soviet airborne operations were limited, but suffered heavy losses due to dispersion on the ground and a lack of heavy support weapons against enemy ground forces equipped with armoured vehicles. Based on combat experience during the war, the Soviet military concluded that airborne troops needed integrated armoured fire support, and even before the end of the war, the first prototype of an armoured vehicle designed specifically for airborne troops was developed. Immediately after the war, specialised armoured vehicles were introduced into Soviet airborne divisions, primarily as tank destroyers. The leading role in this work was taken by Plant No. 40 in Mytishchi, headed by light tank designer N. A. Astrov. As a direct result of the combination of pre-war experiments and wartime experience, during the Cold War the Soviet airborne troops became the most heavily armed and equipped airborne troops in the world, with special armoured vehicles and artillery that could be deployed by airborne operation or parachute drop. After a hiatus in the 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the development of specialised airborne vehicles continued in the Russian Federation, so that modern Russian airborne troops still enjoy the Soviet-era reputation as the most heavily armed airborne troops in the world. This is the history of these special vehicle developments, written entirely from original sources.